Hi,
I've been so busy reporting on what we saw in South Africa (I still am
adding pictures to the wiki) that I haven't written about what is blooming
in my garden. We've yet to have a change in rainfall pattern where I live.
We've had very small amounts of rain twice, but nothing significant since
May so there is still fire danger and my garden is really dry. Still I can
be patient since there are predictions we could have a really wet winter.
Weather where I live in the fall can by sunny and pleasant so I shall enjoy
that why I can. I was thrilled when I returned from South Africa to find my
first ever Brunsvigia in bloom. I've bought plants and were given some and
have a lot others I've grown from seed that have yet to flower. Ironically
the one that bloomed was the only seed in that lot of seeds I was able to
get to come back the second year so it never had any competition from other
seedlings. It is growing in my raised bed.
A stand out bloomer for me this summer into fall has been Hesperoxiphion
peruvianum. If you keep removing the potential seed pod after the one day
blooms, it will keep on blooming so I left it with a friend when I was gone
and she did that for me so now it is in the 3rd month of bloom as it
started in August. Some days I've had up to nine open flowers. It blooms
almost every day. On the other hand I don't seem to be able to get Tigridia
pavonia which was such a joy in a garden with warmer summers to bloom. Rob
Hamilton said its not happy in a pot and maybe it's too dry in the ground.
I'm not sure why one works and the other doesn't. I've added a picture of
Trimezia martinicensis I got in a trade from a pbs member that has been
blooming for a couple of months. I've also taken the seed pod off of it. I
moved it out of the greenhouse for the summer, but I suppose I need to move
it back once it starts to rain. It looks a lot like Lee's picture of a
different species. I wonder how to tell them apart. I just accepted the
name I was given as it sounds like the only descriptions I can find. It's
another one of those that is not for anyone who works during the day as the
flower is only open briefly in the middle of the day.
http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/…
Bessera elegans is blooming now (one summer bloomer I just love that didn't
start to bloom until recently) and the hummingbirds are going for it or
some Nerines that are blooming at the moment. I've scared many away when I
went out my door before I noticed them so don't know which flower on my
porch they were after. The nerine that is blooming near the Bessera is red
so both flowers are red so it could be one or the other. I have a lot of
species and a few hybrid Nerines in bloom and a few winter rainfall species
in the ground that have spikes. My Gladiolus carmineus is almost done
blooming and as usual was wonderful. I have another small Gladiolus in
bloom before the leaves in one of my raised beds and today I noticed a
Hesperantha coccinea (think Schizostylis) in bloom in spite of the very dry
soil it is trying to grow in.
My Oxalis collection is not doing well this year. Only a few have sprouted
although there are a few blooming. I'm not sure why that is as usually I
have good luck with them. Most of my South African bulbs have been breaking
dormancy and some Polyxenas are now in bloom too. I'm not going to call
them Lachenalias until everyone else does. The Lachenalias are returning
and Lachenalia rubida (nice spots on the flowers and leaves) in my raised
bed has buds on it. I find it so exciting as the Lachenalias appear with
their leaves so attractive in the early stages before my excessive rainfall
and humidity changes that. Massonias have buds on them. I have Haemanthus
albiflos in bloom including one from a Doug Westfall seed that was pink
with two more upright leaves than the usual white ones which have more
leaves, perhaps a hybrid? And I'm very excited to report that I'm going to
get my first bloom from a Veltheimia capensis. This is another one that
doesn't look as good once it starts raining. Also I have a number of
Crocuses in bloom and my Cyclamen have been spectacular including some that
I've finally found some places in the ground where they'd return and
thrive. I love all those gorgeous leaves, especially since I've been
growing a number of them long enough that the leaves are really attractive.
They seem to get better as they are older. The first year or two the
markings are not as developed.
I have two pots of Narcissus cantabricus in bloom. In some ways I enjoy
these early flowers more because they don't have as much competition.
Mary Sue